THE National Security Ministry says it is ignoring the group calling itself Families Against State Terrorism (FAST) and pressing ahead with plans to use bean bags as a form of riot control.

“We are not ruling out the use of non-lethal force where necessary,” said head of communication at the Security Ministry, Donovan Nelson. “The ministry does not recognise or respond to comments from that group.”

FAST, whose head, Yvonne McCalla-Sobers appears to be the only public spokesperson for the group, has argued that the bean-bag, “a non-lethal weapon”, can contradict its intent and “cause death” and therefore “should be abandoned altogether”.

A bean bag bullet refers to lead pellets wrapped in cloth and fired from a converted shot gun. The weapon’s bullet “hits its target with the force of a cricket ball traveling at 95 miles per hour” said a FAST release.

The speed of the bullet has raised concerns in the US and Canada after it was said to have caused death.

Reports by a US non-governmental association, The California Law Enforcement Image Coalition, which is comprised of law enforcement and community leaders, reported that “bean bags and plastic bullets have killed 12 people in the United States and Canada… from as far back as the 1970s”.

“Police departments nationwide are abandoning them after finding that they can be dangerously inaccurate and deadlier than manufacturers claimed,” the report said.

And an April 1997 article from Canada’s National Law Enforcement Magazine said that “the Ottawa-Carleton regional police agreed to stop using bean bag shotguns in late February after a man died shortly after being struck by one of the weapon’s projectiles”.

Locally, the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) has confirmed that since late last year, the bean bag has been issued in some of the 19 police divisions across the island. The authorities also said that they were minimising the potential lethal effects of the bullets by training cops before issuing any of the bullets.

Instructions include firing at a distance of no less than 10 metres from the target (person). Also, no cop should aim below the torso — to minimise the lethal potency of the weapon.

It is this discretion which Sobers fears will be abused by the police.

“There are too many representations of abuse in the police force without accountability,” she said in a release. “The public deserves to be confident that police cannot break the law with impunity. If police can fire lethal weapons and escape consequences then police accountability for firing potentially dangerous non-lethal weapons is in serious question.”

Earlier this year, FAST was also vocal in its opposition to the electronic stun gun or taser which is currently under consideration by the Security Ministry.